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Friday, September 23, 2016

These Old Mountains

As my Artist-in-Residence in the Great Smoky Mountains begins for the fall of 2016, I thought that a brief introduction to the Great Smoky Mountains National Park is in order. The park is the star and provides the setting for my camera as summer transitions to fall. As an introduction, I will start with an abridged description of park geology. This may seem mundane, but it is the geology along with the climate that has shaped the natural and human history within the park and made the Great Smoky Mountains as it is today.

The story of the Smoky Mountains begins approximately 200-300 million years ago when tectonic forces lifted these mountains. These are some of the oldest mountains on earth, and at one time the Smoky Mountains resembled the rugged Rocky Mountains. Millions of years of erosion have whittled down the Smoky Mountains. It is nearly incomprehensible to imagine that mountains can be laid low by simple everyday forces of precipitation, freezing and thawing, but the aggregation of almost imperceptible erosion over 200 million years wears down even the loftiest of mountains.

The land forms resulting from these geologic forces are the foundation for all life in the park, and as well the incredible biodiversity. The Smoky Mountains were not significantly impacted by glaciers in the last ice age 10,000 years ago. As the glaciers pressed south, many plants and animals retreated from the glaciers and found refuge within the park. Many northern species have persisted in cooler climates at the highest elevations or in other cool micro climates. Elevation differences create climatic zones which mimic the zones typically found on a traverse from south to north. These zones are compacted within the park from the lowest elevation of 875 feet to the highest at 6,643 feet (Clingman's Dome). These diverse climatic zones as well as the smaller scale climatic variations provide habitat for the more than 10,000 identified species (tens of thousands of additional species are thought to exist here).

Although it will not be readily apparent, my photos of scenes and life in these old mountains will be the result of the nearly invisible hand of relentless geologic forces for hundreds of millions of years.

Thursday, August 11, 2016

What We're Missing

Our modern civilization has literally obliterated
our night skies with
light pollution and most people don't know what they are missing. Where
does one go to escape the multitude of outdoor lights in order to have a
clearer view of the night sky? Night lights are everywhere. Shopping
mall parking lots, car dealers, grocery stores, streetlights,
night-lighted billboards, security lighting around our homes, business
signs, stadium lights, decorative lights, car headlights and traffic
lights. If you drive around at night, unfortunately you will need your
headlights and will need to heed traffic lights. However, it does not
take long to see the lights.

What we're missing are the aurora
borealis (northern lights), planets, the milky way, comets,
constellations, meteor showers, and bright moonlit nights as they can,
and should, appear to us. One can only imagine what our ancestors,
before the proliferation of night lighting, saw when they gazed at the
night sky full of stars.

There have been a few times in my life
when I looked up at the night sky and stared in amazement at the stars
above. It took my breath away the first time I looked skyward while in
the remote mountains of New Mexico. The same feeling of awe and wonder
overcame me in the Rocky Mountains of Colorado. Where did all of those
stars come from, I wondered? True, viewing the stars at low elevations,
as I had done most of my life, is not the same as the view from the
western mountains. However, even at lower elevations, in a remote area of the
Sleeping Bear Dunes, I have experienced some amazing night skies.

This week is the annual Perseid meteor shower, but I cannot help but ask the question: How far do I have to go to escape
the bright lights in order to more clearly see the beautiful night skies? Where can we go to gaze at the multitude of stars in a
truly dark night sky and to peer into the universe beyond our small world?

We
just keep our heads down as we venture outdoors at night. Why bother
to look skyward, because although we may think that we see the stars and
night sky as they should be, we cannot because the skies are no longer
dark and starry.

My one wish is that for one night of the year
all of the unneeded night lights would be turned off. Then, we would
only have to step outside of our homes and look up into the night sky to
see what we've been missing.

Wednesday, August 3, 2016

The mated pair

It is a chilly morning in
early June as I make my first visit of the year to the lake. It has
been almost a year since I last visited the lake with the pair of
loons. The early dawn light and still air accentuate the mists
rising above the lake. If the loons are back this year they are well
hidden in the fog. As the sun peaks over the horizon it is time to
launch the kayak into the lake. As I silently paddle into the lake,
two sandhill cranes call as they lift off from nearby and an eagle
flies overhead, seemingly oblivious to me. I am unable to
stay unnoticed for long as a trumpeter swan honks to announce my
presence to all on the lake. Too, the red-winged blackbirds guard
their territory among the shoreline reeds with vocal taunts.

Paddling is easy on the
still lake, and I begin to peer through the fog for the loons. Their
low to the water profile and mannerisms are easy to distinguish, even
in the fog, and soon I spot them near the shore. As always, I am
careful to keep my distance and to make as little sound as possible.

It is obvious that they have
a nest nearby and it seems to be in a swampy area that may offer
protection from raccoons and other land-based predators. Even people
will have difficulty approaching the nest from the shore, so the
loons have chosen their nesting site well. Unlike the previous year
when the loons were unable to successfully reproduce, perhaps this
year will be better. I tried to memorize the grassy area where the
nest appeared to be in order to make sure that I did not get too
close and left the loons to their family building endeavors.

Mom and chick in fog

Since last year when I first
spotted the loons on the lake, I have learned so much more about
loons. Unlike most birds, they are heavy-boned and their legs with
webbed feet are well back on their body. Their eyes can focus both in
air and water. Even their bright-red eyes help to filter light below
water so that they can see their way. This makes them well adapted to
swimming and diving, even to depths of 200 feet, in order to capture
their diet of fish and other aquatic fauna. Although having their
feet further back on their body makes loons well adapted to water,
this means that their mobility on land is cumbersome. To minimize
their land stay, their nests are usually very close to the shoreline.
Being heavy-boned is great for diving, but taking flight requires a
long runway. Therefore, they are usually only found on larger inland
lakes.

After several weeks of
occasional visits to check on the loon pair, finally the day comes when I spot the loon chick for the first time. The fuzzy chick
stays close by both parents and if an eagle happens to fly over the
parents corral the chick between them and commence calling very
loudly.
If you have never heard a loon call, it is one of the most
beautiful series of notes you will ever hear. Only the males yodel and on one particularly
foggy morning on the lake the male came up behind me and surprised me
with a loud yodel.

Loon dance

As the summer days grow
warmer, the young loon continues to grow. Apparently able to swim
from birth, it will be 12 weeks until the first flight. Both parents
care for their offspring, but it appears that the female stays close
by while the male may range about the lake. On the warmer mornings
the loons will turn in their sides and fan themselves with their
webbed foot, seemingly in an effort to cool themselves.

On some foggy mornings
getting clear photos is nearly impossible. But there are days when
the loons will come very close to me in my kayak as I stay as still
and quiet as possible.
Other times they will preen to stretch or dry
their wings, or in a similar move will do a territorial display that
means that their space has been encroached upon.

On another day four or five
other loons suddenly flew in and landed on the lake. Perhaps the
aunts and uncles have come to check the new arrival, although junior
remained well hidden among the shore grasses. Meanwhile, the other loons
circled my kayak in a boisterous feeding frenzy. I was just awestruck
to be surrounded by loons. As quickly as they arrived the other loons
flew off and once again the lake was a peaceful oasis for the loon
family.

Lily pads

By late July waterlilies on
the lake have multiplied and sometimes paddling through the lilies is
taxing, but the shapes and sometimes even the colors of the pads and
the large white flowers are beautiful.
The middle of the lake is
still open and the loons keep to these areas. The flight feathers on
the young loon are now replacing the downy feathers and the chick
will even make an occasional dive, although it has not shown signs of
being a successful angler yet. Regardless, the parents are catching
plenty of fish and their offspring eagerly accepts an offered fish.

Preening loon in the mists

Successful catch

On one visit the female
leaves the young loon alone near me as if I were a babysitter and
swims across the lake. Perhaps the loons have become accustomed to my
presence and trust me to be a protector. Soon though she swims back
with yet another small fish to feed her offspring.
By this time too
the young loon has nearly all flight feathers but it does not match
the beautiful bands and stripes on the neck, black and white spotted
back and white underbelly feather patterns of the adults. They are
truly beautiful and striking birds.

Nearly grown up

By August the summer days
are starting to dwindle. The parents will soon be the first to head
south to winter along the coasts, inlets and bays along the gulf and
Atlantic coasts. The young and immature loons will leave several
weeks later and spend the next several years along the coasts before
returning to the north country as beautiful adult loons ready to
repeat the cycle for a summer season on a northern lake.
Loons do not
mate for life, but they do return to the same lakes each year to mate
and it will be a welcome sight at the beginning of another summer to
again see this truly iconic bird on the lakes of the northwoods.

Thursday, June 30, 2016

Superior Photo Destination:
Michigan's Upper Peninsula

If you seek a remote place
for wild and scenic photographic opportunities, Michigan's Upper
Peninsula, known as the UP to locals, is one of those below the radar
places with something for almost any photographer. This narrow
peninsula is bounded by the beautiful shores of Lake Michigan to the
south and the scenic Lake Superior coast forms the northern boundary.
Part of Lake Huron also frames the eastern UP. It is connected to
the rest of Michigan by the impressive Mackinac Bridge (pronounced
Mackinaw) which spans the Straits of Mackinac and is one of the
longest suspension bridges in the world. The largest cities are Sault
Saint Marie (population 75,000) to the east and hugging the Lake
Superior shoreline further west is Marquette (population 21,000).
The cities of Duluth, Minnesota and Green Bay, Wisconsin can also
serve as bases for excursions into the UP. Many small-quaint towns
dot the landscape and most will have a family run diner or other
places to eat and comfortable lodging.

With two national forests
(The Hiawatha and Ottawa), over 2 million acres of state forest land,
Pictured Rocks National Lakeshore, Seney National Wildlife Refuge,
Isle Royale National Park, Porcupine Mountains Wilderness State Park
and many other state and local parks the UP has a wide range of
photographic locales.

At this northern latitude
summer days are long, but the summer season is very short with the
peak of summer being July. Daytime temperatures are usually
comfortable and with occasional cool or hot stretches, but bring your
insect repellent. Mosquitoes and biting flies can be a nuisance,
especially in June and July. Evenings and and nights can be cool, so
bring a light jacket.

For summer shooting there
are over 200 waterfalls in the UP including Tahquamenon Falls, the
photogenic Bond Falls and even some waterfalls that flow more than
100 feet down mineral-stained sandstone cliffs to Lake Superior at
the Pictured Rocks National Lakeshore. Many waterfalls are best in
spring or early summer, when runoff from melting snow supplies ample
water. Several books are available to provide detailed information
on almost all of the waterfalls. Summer sunrises and sunsets over
Lake Michigan and Lake Superior can be incredible spectacles to
photograph.

Sugar maple, aspen, ash,
birch, oak and other hardwood trees can put on a spectacular autumn
display. This may start as early as September and may only last a few
short weeks. Must visit places in the fall include the Lake of the
Clouds in the Porcupine Mountains Wilderness State Park and Council
Lake on the Hiawatha National Forest. Spring, the other
short-shoulder season, begins in May and can yield awesome displays
of woodland wildflowers.

Winter is by far the longest
season and some places receive an average of over 200 inches of
snowfall. Access to remote areas is often by snowmobile or snowshoe
hiking. Spectacular ice formations such as the Eben Ice Caves on the
Hiawatha National Forest or the huge frozen falls at the Pictured
Rocks National Lakeshore are unique photographic opportunities.

Moose, wolves bears, deer
and other wildlife inhabit forests throughout the UP, but due to the
dense vegetation most people will never see many of these animals,
especially the elusive wolves. The Seney National Wildlife Refuge is
however a great place for loons, ducks, geese and other waterfowl.

If you want to get away from
some of the crowded national parks, try Isle Royale National Park in
Lake Superior. It is actually closer to Canada than the US and it is
only accessible by boat or seaplane. Thus, it is one of the least
visited national parks. However, Isle Royale National Park has
beautiful rocky bays and inlets to Lake Superior, wolves, moose and
trails throughout the 48-mile long island. There are no roads for
cars on the island and lodging is either at the park service lodges
at Rock Harbor and Windigo or in a tent.

To top it all off, the UP is
one of the best places in the lower 48 states to see and photograph
the northern lights. Although the Aurora Borealis can been seen any
time of year, on a clear winter night in a remote area of the UP
skies are plenty dark to view and photograph the northern

So, if you really want to
get away from the crowds as well as summer heat and humidity while
photographing fantastic waterfalls, fantastic sunrises and sunsets
over the great lakes and other amazing spring, fall or winter
scenery you may want to consider Michigan's Upper Peninsula.

Saturday, August 8, 2015

Why are
waterfalls so fascinating? Is it the thundering roar, the picturesque
scenes where they are found, or is it thousands of gallons of water
cascading in unison over a precipice, that depending on how you view
the falls can appear to be still or in endless motion?

Whatever the
answer, there are about 200 waterfalls, some say more than 300, in
Michigan. Some falls are named and many others are unnamed. Of the
named falls only one, Ocqueoc Falls, east of Onaway, is in the Lower
Peninsula. The remaining falls are in the Upper Peninsula and it
seems that they are just about everywhere in the UP.

For those who
are properly equipped and skilled for paddling on the big lake, a
kayak can allow access to Bridal Veil Falls from Lake Superior at the
Pictured Rocks National Lakeshore near Munising. My only trip in a
kayak to view the falls revealed the technical nature of the trip,
and quite frankly if I were to do it again, I would be better
prepared and probably safer too. For those not so daring, this
waterfall is part of the boat tours of the spectacular Pictured Rocks
cliffs. Bridal Veil Falls flows down the mineral stained cliffs into
Lake Superior and is a spring event due to snow melt runoff and only
occasionally flows at other times as a result of heavy rainfall.

One of my
favorites is Canyon Falls and the Sturgeon River Gorge off of US-41,
South of L'Anse in Baraga County. The trail leading from the
unassuming rest stop on the west side of US-41 leads along the
Sturgeon River to Canyon Falls which begins the Sturgeon River Gorge.
It took me by complete surprise on my first visit when I
unexpectedly stumbled upon this amazing river canyon. Local residents
and students from nearby Michigan Technological University have known
about this area for some time and have utilized the pools in the
gorge for swimming. My other revelation was of the wildflowers such
as nodding trillium that line the path to the river.

One of the tall
waterfalls, Laughing Whitefish Falls, in Alger County slides more
than 100 feet over layered rocks. It has been several years since my
last visit and my memory is of the staircase from the top to the
bottom of the falls and the difficulty of capturing the essence of
this waterfall with a camera. Still, the view from the top of the
falls is spectacular.

For those who
desire a hiking adventure to a waterfall, Spray Falls at the Pictured
Rocks can be the focus of an 8 mile round trip hike. The trailhead is
accessed via H-58 and Beaver Creek Road. Part of the hike is on the
Lakeshore Trail which parallels Lake Superior and offers incredible
views of the bluegreen lake from the bluffs above. There are some
challenging stairs and moderate climbs on the trail, but the reward
for the hike is a view of the falls and the lake from a plateau more
than 100 feet above Lake Superior.

For those
wanting a more leisurely experience, Alger, Scott and other falls
can be viewed from a car or may only require a very short walk, as is
the case for Wagner Falls.

No waterfall
tour is complete without a stop at Upper and Lower Tahquamenon Falls
southwest of Paradise. Upper Tahquamenon Falls is the largest in
Michigan. The wide expanse of tannin colored water which forms the
falls has long been a must-see for any who enjoy viewing waterfalls.
The area surrounding Tahquamenon Falls is especially attractive in
autumn colors. On one of my late winter – early spring trips I had
the good fortune to visit these falls at the peak of the snow melt.
The extreme volume of water thundering over the falls was literally
shaking the ground.

There are so
many fascinating waterfalls and scenic rivers in Michigan, and
favorites of mine also include the Presque Isle River in the
Porcupine Mountains or Bond Falls for the iconic photo possibilities.
But surely there are more my travels have yet to discover. My
introduction to the waterfalls of Michigan and a good resource is the
book, “A Guide to 199 Michigan Waterfalls” by Laurie Penrose.
Another good source of information is the Internet. A search for
Michigan waterfalls will reveal many useful websites for waterfalls
in Michigan.

Sunday, December 21, 2014

While watching an annual slide program populated with photos by members of the Traverse Area Camera Club, it made me think back to this past year in photos for me. There have been a few trips and a few local photos that were memorable. Here are some of the images:

The epic winter of 2013-14 was memorable for the trip to the shoreline of Lake Superior. This is Madeline Island, Big Bay State Park, which in years when Lake Superior freezes, can be reached by driving over the frozen lake. It was a balmy 3 degrees that morning.

The ice formations along the Lake Superior Shore at the Apostle Islands National Park were impressive. This formation is known as the keyhole. This photo was a finalist with the North American Nature Photography Association. Amazing experience along the frozen shore of Lake Superior.

Back in Michigan, Lake Michigan was frozen into April. A truly historic winter.

The next trip was to the Great Smoky Mountains in late April. The bears seemed to be quite active at that time. This mother and her yearling cub (not pictured) were chomping on plants. Bears draw quite the crowd in Cades Cove, hence the term "Bear Jams".

Hyatt Lane in Cades Cove in the Great Smoky Mountains National Park. One of my favorite places in the spring and fall. This photo was two days in the making. I spotted this the previous day when the clouds refused to yield.

Being surrounded by Elk in Cataloochee Cove in the Great Smoky Mountains is quite an experience. It was my intention to keep a safe distance, but they were coming out of the surrounding forest behind me. This young bull elk was nice enough to let me photograph him.

Along the North Country Trail at the Pictured Rocks National Lakeshore the first week of June. The mosquitoes were horrendous. So, it was click, slap, click, slap. Beautiful sunlight through the trees near Miner's Castle.

This wood lily was a perfect specimen and is actually a composite of two images to increase the focus distance. Though the mosquitoes were out in force, my preparations allowed me to ignore the bites.

Back home until the next journey, this delightful scene presented itself to me at the Sleeping Bear Dunes. It is so rare to find a dune sans footprints and to get great light and clouds too is even better.

If you ever have the opportunity to visit Watkins Glen State Park in upstate New York, bring your camera. There are at least 19 waterfalls in the gorge, plus bridges and tunnels along the route. Truly one of the more spectacular places I have visited.

The days were already starting to be quite chilly in September. On one of those chilly evenings I was fortunate to find this scene looking west from the Old Mission Peninsula. It actually reminds me of the Smoky Mountains because of the layering.

One last day of sailing on Grand Traverse Bay before the cooler weather.

Great reflection on a beautiful fall morning. The reflections seemed to last for a long-long time that morning. If you are standing in the lake, the slightest movement causes ripples all the way across the lake. Given time, the reflection reappears.

One of those intimate scenes that sometimes just grabs you. Especially if you have to make a "U" turn to go back to get it. Was that a good opportunity for a photo? Well, go back and check it out, and yes, it was a fantastic scene.

Yes, the fall of 2014 presented many photo opportunities. This was a pre-visualized photo that actually worked as planned. The gold color was really accentuated by the late-day light coming through the leaves.

Believe it or not, this is actually a winter image. Taken in a thick fog, these pines give a real sense of the mystery in the woods.

Finally, winter scenes like this one taken at night on the Boardman River in downtown Traverse City.

If you have made it through my year in pictures, thank you. It has been a pretty darn good year for photos and I really appreciate the support from everyone. I am truly blessed to be able to capture and share some of the beauty of this world.

Wednesday, December 17, 2014

Yesterday, after meeting with several of the businesses in Traverse City that have supported me over the years, I realize that I have been fortunate to have lots of support for my photography. So, I wanted to highlight those that have been helped in one way or another to promote my photography. Here they are in no particular order: